The VeriChip, an implantable computer chip, has already been in use for quite some time to track animals. But its use has started to expand to include humans. Of course, its use in humans is suppose to be limited to storage of patient-specific medical information that can be obtained by health care professionals if they pass a scanner over it. The point of having this device implanted in ones arm is that health care professionals are able to get important medical information, such as one's allergies and prior treatments. The issue, of course, it the possibility that the chip could also be used as a tracking device, as it has been used in animals. If the technology is already there, the possibility for misuse is also there.
The patent will most likely be denied, but in the fight against terrorists (including domestic terrorists), a police state would probably be very interested in its potentials, and if the VeriChip becomes commonly used, it wouldn't be too difficult to tag "potential terrorists" with a tracking chip.
“If privacy protections aren’t built in at the outset, there could be harmful consequences for patients,” said Emily Stewart, a policy analyst at the Health Privacy Project. (msnbc)I recently also came across something even more disturbing. According to The Local, a Saudi Arabian inventor has filed for a patent on a human tracking microchip that could enable remote killing.
The tiny electronic device, dubbed the “Killer Chip” by Swiss daily Tagesanzeiger, would be suited for tracking fugitives from justice, terrorists, illegal immigrants, criminals, political opponents, defectors, domestic help, and Saudi Arabians who don’t return home from pilgrimages.
“I apply for these reasons and for reasons of state security and the security of citizens,” the statement reads.
After subcutaneous implantation, the chip would send out encrypted radio waves that would be tracked by satellites to confirm the person’s identity and whereabouts. An alternate model chip could reportedly release a poison into the carrier if he or she became a security risk.
The patent will most likely be denied, but in the fight against terrorists (including domestic terrorists), a police state would probably be very interested in its potentials, and if the VeriChip becomes commonly used, it wouldn't be too difficult to tag "potential terrorists" with a tracking chip.
Science fiction?
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This is really scary stuff indeed, and seeing how the government is slowly voting throughh more and more of their discriminating laws, we will most likely see these kind of motions coming up in the future.
ReplyDeleteReally scary. I wrote in my blog about the VeriChip, you have most likely already heard of it, but if not. Read my post about it:
http://joakimbergman.blogspot.com/2009/06/infant-cyborgs-future.html